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Sep 15, 2016

How to use the Calmz Anxiety Relief System

Howdy, Furiends!I's letting Mom post today 'cause it's 'bout someting very impawtant and I's don't wants to mess it up.(HeHeHe)♥♥♥♥♥Thank You, Amber!A while back we were invited to try out the newCalmz Anxiety Vestin exchange for an honest review.Our chosen candidate to participate in the trial was Annie.Annie came to us as a rescue about 4 years ago. She turned 8 years old earlier this year. Her previous owners gave us some information on her but only mentioned she was afraid of water. She isn't afraid of water by any means....she loves to take a bath. But she is terrified beyond words whenever the atmospheric pressure drops. We don't even need a storm to set her fear in motion. She can predict rain hours before it arrives.Annie's fear goes far beyond what most animals display when a storm approaches. She has all the normal signs of distress but then takes it one step further. She will literally grab me or her Dad with her claws and try to hang on. In fact, Dad has lost a lot of blood from her efforts to claw her way down his shirt.We have taken Annie to two vets in an effort to find some relief for her. Both vets have agreed that she is a special case and there isn't much short of a strong tranquilizer to ease her distress. We did try her on a couple of different medications (including over-the counter stress relief tablets) but even the prescription tranquilizers didn't help. All they did was make her completely disoriented which increased the stress symptoms as well. So the vets concluded that nothing could be done to safely relieve Annie's anxiety.Following are a view pictures of Annie long before the rain actually started. You can see the tail tucked, eyes bulging out, panting, and the ears pinned back.....classic symptoms of stress (and in Annie's case....utter fear and panic).

The only place that Annie felt safe was in a crate that we keep in a dark closet with the door open so she could hide as she felt the need to escape.

I have to admit I was skeptical that the Calmz Anxiety Relief System would really help Annie. We had a Thundershirt from years ago that didn't help Annie at all. But at this point I was willing to try anything that could help.

The Calmz unit consists of a tight-fitting vest with a battery-operated control that fits in a pocket at the top of the vest between the shoulder blades. It has a number of settings that control the vibration as well as a soothing music effect.We ordered Annie a Medium vest that came the closest to her measurements. It fit perfectly around her chest but I had to make some adjustments to the strap going around her body as it was way too large. We've been working with Annie and the Calmz unit for about two months. She accepted the vest immediately but continued showing signs of distress during the first few weeks of the trial.Slowly we began to notice a slight improvement in her behavior whenever something triggered a fear response.When she has the vest on with the vibration and the music on at the highest setting, she no longer runs for her crate.

Instead she lays down in one of her favorite spots and sometimes even falls asleep.

A few days ago a storm approached and she didn't even wait for me to put the vest on her. She just laid down without it and took a nap through the storm.

I delayed doing this review until I could see some positive changes in Annie's behavior whenever her anxiety level was raised. By no means is she cured at this point. The vet feels she may never really be completely relaxed no matter what we try. But I do feel that it's a start because I do see a change for the better.I will continue working with Annie and post another review as time goes on and as we get closer to our goal.I want to thank those who made this possible and for giving Annie a chance at a normal fear-free life.Please watch the video below for more information on theCALMZ ANXIETY RELIEF SYSTEM.

28 comments:

I am soooo glad you have found sumthingy to help Annie and her anxiety issues...she is a real cutie pieI also finks she is a VERY clever girlie as she can predict the weather better than most Weatherpeeps!Loves and licky kissesPrincess Leah xxx

oh how great that this vest helped Annie... we cross our paws that all future thunderstorms and fireworks and all stuff what scares a little dog can be managed with this cool vest... it#s probably a magic one :O)

That is great that you found something that will help Annie at least a little bit. Poor Dog. We sure send a lot of good thoughts to Annie in hopes that she will continue to feel better about the darn storms.

WoW! That is pawesome! So happy there are people out there who invent such great products to help animals!

Amber, let your peeps know I (sadly) went to the bridge over a year ago, but now tweet, fb and blog for the new TigerLily at YorkieTails. She's a doll and just getting started in life! Going to be fun!

That's pretty amazing! Maybe we should get one of these for Chester who seems to be so afraid of car rides. He will literally pant and shake the entire trip. But he also doesn't like to left home alone since Joey dog crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

This system is showing great promise but it is nice to hear the effects from someone we know and trust. Thundershirts work for some and not others; same with aromatherapy methods. What you describe sounds like real desensitization to the triggers. Thanks for the review.

I am going to tell my friend whose dog is terrified of storms. Or maybe I'll wait for your next review. In any case, she's desperately searching for something to help her dog who huddles behind the nearest toilet during storms...

I hope this finds you and yours doing well. May we display your header on our new site directory? As it is now, the site title (linked back to its home page) is listed, and we think displaying the header will attract more attention. In any event, we hope you will come by and see what is going on at SiteHoundSniffs.com.

Wow, that's a wonderful product. I had two dogs that were terrified of storms and could actually predict them hours ahead of time. We used all sorts of things, tranquilizers and safe places in dark closets combined with music. I wish this vest had been available for them. Keep up the good work, Annie.